Excuse the weak title and summary. Never been good at coming up with either.
I recently got myself a PsVita and have been playing a lot of Persona 4. Can't believe I didn't know about this game sooner. It's an absolute favorite of mine now.
Now in this world, it's the same Naruto, who just happens to be born in the Persona world, so no chakra but similar morals.
As for pairings, Chie is best girl but it will be a harem. I'm thinking the main cast of girls but I'm up for suggestions.
Naruto awoke from a dream he was already forgetting to the blaring of the train's horn, fading images of a gangly man and a beautiful woman finally slipped his mind as the automated announcement informed him of his arrival at Inaba station. He rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes and looked around to find he was alone. There weren't many people on the train to begin with but he wasn't surprised either considering where he was.
For the next year, Naruto would be staying in Inaba, a small town far from the vast city of Tokyo where he was from. His mother and father were away on business with his godfather, leaving him with his father's estranged brother.
It would be an interesting year for sure, Naruto thought.
He grabbed his luggage and exited the train to find a vast countryside and fresh air. Considering he didn't have a choice in the matter, Naruto was't too upset with the arrangement. Sure he would miss his friends and family, but he always did feel more at home in nature and would be looking forward to spending time outdoors.
"Over here!"
Naruto was shaken from his thoughts by the calls of a man. He quickly located the only two in the otherwise empty station, a man and a small girl; his uncle and niece. His father did say he would look tired and at a glance, it was an apt descriptor of the man.
"Dojima Ryutaro?" Naruto asked as he approached the two.
"That's me," Ryutaro said as he looked him up and down. "You look just like Minato, well except for the hair and the whiskers. Wow, you still have those?"
Naruto accepted the man's outstretched hand with a firm handshake. "It's nice to finally meet you, uncle."
Ryutaro was maybe a couple of inches taller than him with short graying hair that was once black and stubble that was half past five. He wore a brown business suit, with his jacket thrown casually over his shoulder.
"Oh we've met before, but I imagine you don't remember. You were in diapers after all," Ryutaro said with a good natured chuckle.
"Is that so?" Naruto didn't know how else to respond to that embarrassing revelation.
"Oh, this is my daughter, Nanako-chan," Ryutaro pushed the little girl forward. "Come on, introduce yourself."
The girl had brown hair done in short twin ponytails and a cute summer dress. She was obviously shy and uttered what sounded like a greeting before retreating behind her father once again.
"Come on, Nanako-chan," Ryutaro sighed and shook his head. "Well anyways, I imagine you're tired from your trip. Why don't you put your things in the trunk and we can head off."
Naruto nodded and picked up his luggage. When he looked up he found a cute girl in a blue hat and white shirt walking by him. He involuntarily stared at her and she looked back at him with a stoic expression.
"What?" The girl asked bluntly.
"Uh, nothing?" Naruto once again found himself at a loss for what to say.
The girl rolled her eyes before continuing along into the train station.
"What're you waiting for?" Ryutaro called out from inside his car. "Come on!"
Not much was said on the car trip to the Dojima residence. Naruto tried to ignore the empty tea bottles and fast food wrappers that littered the floorboard beneath his feet along with the feint smell of stale cigarettes.
They made a quick stop at a service station where Ryutaro filled up and purchased their dinner for the evening. There, Naruto was able to get a brief glimpse of the cozy town and its residents.
Finally, they arrived at the Dojima's house; a modest two story home on a slight incline with a side garden long neglected. Inside was much more well taken care of. His own room was decently sized for a guest room, if a bit dusty, with a futon, a desk, and a small television.
Ryutaro mentioned Nanako worked diligently to get the room ready for his arrival, further embarrassing the shy little girl.
After a quick shower and putting his things away, Naruto joined the Dojima's for dinner.
"So how's your family doing these days?" Ryutaro asked conversationally.
Naruto wondered why his father and uncle were estranged. In fact, he'd all but forgotten he'd had an uncle until the arrangements were made for him to stay in Inaba. His father's only explanation being that people, even family, drifted apart.
He suspected there was more to the story but he didn't press the matter.
"Mom and dad are working full time to establish a publishing company in America, primarily pushing my godfather's books," Naruto finished with an awkward smile.
Ryutaro's face twisted. "You don't mean those books?"
Naruto set his chopsticks down with a sigh. "Yeah, those books," he said knowingly.
Nanako looked between the two. "What books?"
"Nothing!" Naruto said.
"Don't worry about it!" Ryutaro said.
They both spoke at once.
"Ok," Nanako elongated the word in confusion. She seemed curious but kept to herself.
"Well what about you, Naruto? What did you do for fun back home?" Ryutaro continued.
"Besides hanging out with friends, I'm part of the kendo club and practice mixed martial arts," Naruto said.
"Do you now?" Ryutaro seemed genuinely surprised and interested.
"Yeah, I kinda thought it'd be fun to learn how to fight and figured I'd join my schools clubs," Naruto admitted sheepishly.
There really wasn't much more to it than fighting seemed to come natural to him and it was something he greatly enjoyed doing.
"Well I hope you don't go around starting fights around here," Ryutaro said jokingly but his expression eluded to the seriousness in his words.
"I only fight when I compete," Naruto said.
When he could avoid it.
Their conversation was interrupted by the ringing of Ryutaro's phone. He excused himself to take it and once he did, Nanako sighed sadly.
"Something wrong, Nanako-chan?" Naruto asked.
"Oh, um, it's nothing," she mumbled.
Naruto learned what was bothering Nanako when Ryutaro announced he needed to go to work, briefly explaining he was a detective. After which he was left in Nanako's care, their dinner falling silent as he struggled to find the words to comfort the downtrodden girl, failing miserably.
Eventually Nanako herself decided to turn on the television to the report of a love triangle between two women and a man. As expected of a child, she found it boring and immediately changed the channel to the weather next.
It was going to rain that night, into the next day.
Nanako continued to flip through the various channels before stopping abruptly, going back a couple of channels to a station broadcasting a commercial for a shopping center he was vaguely familiar with.
"Every day's great at your June's," Nanako sang along cheerfully.
Naruto found it downright adorable. "You like June's?" He asked.
"Uh huh!" Nanako seemed, for the first time, lively. "My dad takes me there sometimes. There are so many cool stores there!"
"Is that so? Would you mind showing me around sometime?" Naruto saw an opportunity to bond with his new found cousin, so he took it.
"Ooh, we can go tomorrow after school!" Nanako was positively glowing. "We can even walk together if you want, our school's are the same way!"
"Sounds like a plan," Naruto agreed.
Nanako beamed at him and seemed much more receptive to conversation for the remainder of the evening. After chatting and watching television together for a couple of hours, they both went to bed.
Naruto woke up the next morning with a start and a racing heart. He had just experienced a nightmare that felt so real it stayed with him more vividly. He had been running down a seemingly endless hallway until he was confronted by a mysterious being he felt compelled to fight.
Like running in a dream he felt like his motions were delayed but he also felt like his life was in genuine danger and he was fighting to preserve it. Naruto couldn't think of what could have possibly brought on the nightmare outside of the stress of the move.
But he wasn't truly all that stressed about it and he'd never had a nightmare so vivid.
After calming himself, realized he could smell breakfast cooking and knew it was about time for him to get ready for his firs day at his new school. Though never one to enjoy school, he welcomed the distraction from the lingering sense of anxiousness that now weighed his stomach.
When he descended down the stairs he found another source of panic. Nanako was standing on a purple step stool, humming the Junes tune from the night before as she prepared breakfast.
Naruto rushed to her side. "H-Hey Nanako-chan, do you maybe need help with that?"
Nanako pouted at him. "I can cook. Well, eggs is all I know how to cook, but I can do it."
Naruto didn't want to offend her so he didn't stop her but he did make certain to keep a watchful eye on Nanako until she finished cooking and served him. To her merit, the eggs were cooked perfectly and they shared a pleasant breakfast.
That was until he asked about Ryutaro. Nanako regrettably informed him her father never returned home but it was something she seemed used to. Naruto was concerned and felt for the girl considering she seemed to be left by herself often.
Though he didn't know the specifics, he knew her mother had passed away fairly recently and he wasn't about to ask either of the Dojima's exactly how.
Thankfully the walk to school was much more lively. It was raining as the weather station forecasted and so they walked together beneath umbrellas. Naruto listened as Nanako spoke animatedly about her friends and the fun they had. Every once and a while she would pepper in questions about his own friends and previous school life.
"You're school's that way," Nanako said at the juncture between both schools. "I can walk by myself from here."
"Are you sure? I wouldn't mind walking you all the way," Naruto offered.
"No, it's fine. You wouldn't want to be late on your first day!" And with that, she was was off. "Bye-Bye!"
Naruto watched her go and smiled as she joined a group of girls. Having only just met Nanako, he fully believed she was an amazing and intelligent little girl. He only hoped things would get better for her.
On his final stretch, he came upon a boy who crashed his bike. Naruto didn't want to be late but he also couldn't leave him there and no one else seemed interested in helping, instead only snickering as they passed.
Naruto pulled the boy out of the trash can he somehow fell into.
"Oh man, that hurt," the boy groaned as he wiped the remnants of trash from his hair. "Hey, thanks for helping me. Wait, are you the new transfer student?"
"That'd be me," Naruto said.
"You know, there was a rumor going around about a transfer student; was kinda hoping you'd be a hot chick but hey, nice to meet ya!" The boy sped through the last sentence. "I'm Yosuke, by the way, Hanamura Yosuke!"
Naruto was about to shake his hand but saw it was dirty. "Erm, I'm Namikaze Nnaruto, it's nice to meet you too but don't you think you should get yourself cleaned up?"
"Oh crap, you're right! I'm going to be so late!" Yosuke jumped back on his bike and petaled away in a rush.
Naruto chuckled to himself, only to hear the bell ring.
"Oh shit, I'm going to be late!"
He was late enough to earn a stern talking to by the principal and a dirty glare from who would be his new home room teacher, Morooka Kinshiro, an angry looking man with a developing hunchback and an overbite that could not be concealed even with his mouth shut. Something he didn't do because as soon as they left the principals office, he immediately began to lay into him and continued to berate him until they arrived at his class.
Mooroka finally ceased his ranting to slide the door open with a slam, startling the students within. "Alright, everyone shut the hell up!"
Naruto wasn't sure if he should be relieved he wasn't the only one the man was vile to. He quickly decided not to be considering he would be in his class for the following year.
The man's following speech cemented this fact.
"I'll keep this short so listen up; this is Namikaze Naruto. Now, this sad sack's probably been thrown out of his city like yesterday's garbage. He's probably as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas of hitting on him!" Mooroka said before turning to address him personally.
"Now listen up, Namikaze! This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one. You'd better not even think of getting involved with the girls here, let alone abusing them! But what do I know, it's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast. Every time I turn my back, you're fooling around on those damn phones, checking your life-journals and your my-places - "
"What the hell is your problem?" Naruto interrupted the man's slanderous ramblings. He may have promised his mother he would be on his best behavior, but the man had already crossed too many lines.
The students gasped audibly.
"What did you say to me, you little shit-stain?"
Naruto held his tongue that time but did not shy away from meeting the man's glare.
"Excuse me, Mr Mooroka," a girl's voice interrupted their contest. "Can the new guy sit next to me?"
Mooroka looked over the girl and so did Naruto. She had her hand up with a nervous smile.
Naruto felt his heart begin to race because the girl was very cute. Her eyes were a soft brown, almost matching her hair in color, which was cut in a short bob she managed to make look good. Her nose was a button and her left cheek dimpled as she smiled at him.
"Whatever," Mooroka seemed to dismiss them both. "Go sit your ass down so we can get started."
Naruto took his seat next to the girl, who briefly smiled at him, making his face heat up.
"I can't believe you spoke to King Moron like that!" She whispered. "I'm Satanako Chie, by the way."
Naruto thought both her name and voice were cute. "King Moron, huh?"
"It's what we all call him. He's an asshole as I'm sure you've noticed," Chie giggled.
"Just a little bit, yeah," Naruto wholeheartedly agreed.
Mooroka shouted at them, putting an end to their conversation.
The day proceeded normally enough following the eventful morning. No one seemed willing to outright speak to him, though he noticed more than a few glancing in his direction, whispering. He was hoping to speak with Chie some more during lunch, but she immediately pulled her desk together with that of another cute girl and neither spared him another glance.
Yosuke was also in class but he seemed to be on edge and kept to himself. During lunch, he only set his head down on his desk and promptly fell asleep, leaving Naruto with no other option than to keep to himself and play on his phone.
When the school day finally came to an end, their departure was delayed by an announcement calling on all staff, while also asking all students to remain in class.
"Man, we should have snuck off earlier," Chie whined.
Naruto was messaging Sasuke while he waited for them to be released and was getting typical single sentence responses.
Not too long after there was another announcement. This one was to warn the students of an incident near the school. They were advised to contact their parents to be escorted home, but no one seemed to do this, instead taking to speculating on exactly what had happened.
Naruto didn't think Ryutaro would drop his work to pick him up, so he began to gather his things to meet up with Nanako.
"Hey Naruto, you wanna walk home with us?" Chie asked.
Naruto had not expected this.
"This is Amagi Yukiko-chan, by the way," Chie pressed on, introducing her friend. "She's single but don't get any ideas, mister!"
"Wha?" Naruto flushed.
"Erm, Chie-chan," Yukiko muttered, equally embarrassed.
"Just kidding!" Chie grinned.
The door slid open to reveal a sheepish looking Yosuke.
"Yosuke, where'd you head off earlier?" Chie asked, thankfully turning her attention away from both of the embarrassed teens.
"Ah, well you see, uh, do you remember the movie you let me borrow?" Yosuke looked extremely nervous and was holding something behind his back.
"Yeah?" Chie asked suspiciously.
"Well you see, I had a bit of an accident this morning and well…" Yosuke trailed off as he revealed a bent dvd box.
"What did you do?" Chie snatched the movie out of his hands and opened the box.
"I'm pretty sure it'll still work!" Yosuke looked ready to bolt at any second. "If you wait until my next payday, I'll get you a new one."
Chie opened the box and let out a growl. "No way, it's split down the middle!" She slammed the dvd on the ground and advanced towards a retreating Yosuke.
"Should we maybe do something?" Naruto asked Yukiko.
"I find it's best not to get involved when those two get into it," Yukiko stated softly.
Naruto winced in sympathy as Yosuke was put down with a single swift kick where it hurt a man the most. He was on the ground, writhing in pain.
"Come on, Yukiko-chan, Naruto," Chie said with a huff.
Reluctantly Naruto stood and stared down at a still writhing boy on the ground.
"He'll be fine," Chie said with a sigh and pulled him along. "Come on now. We'll need a big strong man to protect us on our way home, right Yukiko-chan?"
Yukiko's only response was to sigh in exasperation.
"It looks like you can take care of yourself," Naruto commented as he was pulled along.
"Of course I can!" Chie stated proudly as she gripped her bicep. "I know Kung-fu!"
This peaked Naruto's interest. "Really? I know a little mixed martial arts myself, mainly Jujitsu, but I've practiced a few other disciplines."
"No way!" Chie was in his face in the blink of the eye. "You can fight?"
Naruto took an involuntary step back. "Erm, well yeah. I'm also in the Kendo club too," he added, trying to impress both girls.
"That's so cool! Man, I wish we offered clubs like that," Chie pouted adorably. "All we have are boring sports clubs. Well, that, theater, and band, but those are boring too!"
They were stopped at the school gate when Yukiko was approached by an odd looking boy who proceeded to ask her out. The poor girl looked like a nervous wreck as she turned him down and though Naruto wanted to step in and help her, he also didn't want to overstep. He didn't know either girl enough to assume they needed his help.
It seemed as though it was semi common occurrence according to Chie, who seemed to make light of the situation, much to Yukiko's growing discomfort. She even went so far as to reveal her friend never had a boyfriend and asked him if he thought she was cute.
Though he certainly did think Yukiko was beautiful, Naruto took the initiative to change the subject back to martial arts. It was obvious Yukiko was uncomfortable with the subject and seemed silently thankful at his distraction. They continued talking, which was mainly Chie grilling Naruto about his martial arts experience and all of the fights he'd competed in until they came to the junction between both schools where Nanako was waiting.
At the appearance of the two girls, Nanako immediately became shy.
"How was school today, Nanako-chan?" Naruto asked in greeting.
"Fine," she mumbled.
"Oh, and who's this?" Yukiko crouched in front of Nanako with a smile.
The girl shuffled behind Naruto.
"This is Nanako-chan, my cousin," Naruto smiled and patted the shy girl's head. "I'm staying with her and my uncle while I'm here."
"She's so cute!" Chie gushed.
Nanako further hid behind him.
"Nanako-chan and I are going to Junes, so I'll see you two at school tomorrow," Naruto decided to take mercy on his cousin.
"Oh, can we come?" Chie asked excitedly. "What do you think, Yukiko-chan? Maybe the new guy will treat us to some food!"
Naruto chuckled nervously at the leaps in assumptions Chie seemed to often make.
"We really shouldn't impose," Chie-chan," Yukiko said quietly.
Naruto looked down at Nanako. "You would't mind, would you?"
Nanako motioned him closer. "I thought we were going together," she whispered.
Naruto couldn't stand the sadness written on her face. He smiled apologetically back to his two classmates. "Maybe another time. I did promise Nanako-chan we'd go together, just the two of us."
"We understand," Yukiko cut in before Chie could say anything. Her smile was beautiful because it was the force one he'd seen that didn't seem at all forced. "I think it's nice you're spending time with your cousin."
Naruto smiled despite his embarrassment and palmed the back of his head sheepishly. "Thanks."
Naruto spent the evening with Nanako at Junes. They pursued the many shops and though he didn't understand why she enjoyed the shopping center as much as she did, they did have fun. They ended their outing by enjoying some ice cream before making their way home.
Ryutaro still wasn't home by the time they arrived so Naruto spent the evening helping Nanako with her chores and homework. It was dark out when he finally arrived, appearing completely exhausted.
"How was school?" He asked as he set their dinner down on the table and proceeded to fall back onto the futon with a sigh.
Naruto wasn't sure who he was asking, so he assumed it was both of them. "Pretty good actually. Though we hear there was an accident near the school, know anything about that?"
Ryutaro stared at him with an uncertain expression, his tired gaze briefly moving to his daughter. "Nothing you need to worry about."
Naruto suspected there was but knew he wouldn't be getting any answers from his uncle.
"Naruto took me to Junes today!" Nanako cut in excitedly. "We went after school and we even had ice cream!"
"Did you now?" Ryutaro's eyes seemed to lighten up at his daughter's levity. "Sounds like fun. I'm glad you two are getting along."
"Uh huh! Big bro — I mean, Naruto's really nice," Nanako suddenly seemed flustered. "I, I'll get dinner ready!"
They watched her run off into the kitchen with their dinner in hand.
"Thank you for spending time with her today. I'm sure you've noticed, but I have to work quite a bit," Ryutaro's exhaustion sounded more than physical. "It'll be nice having someone else around the house to look after Nanako-chan."
"It was no problem," Naruto didn't know what else to say.
Nanako returned and they had a quiet but lovely dinner together. In a lull in conversation, Nanako turned on the television and they were immediately informed of the death of a reporter. The same reporter caught in the controversy was found hanging near their school.
"Shut that off!"
Ryutaro's sudden shout startled Naruto and Nanako both.
Ryutaro reached across the table and shut off the tv himself, tossing the remote on the futon behind him. Naruto shared an odd look with Nanako.
"Sorry," he said following a sigh. "I just can't believe they're already broadcasting her identity. I specifically requested…" Ryutaro trailed off into a grumble.
They went to bed shortly after dinner.
The next morning played out similarly to the first. Ryutaro was gone by the time he came downstairs and Nanako had already prepared their breakfast. Naruto made a mental note to go shopping for food so he could help the busy little girl cook. It wouldn't do well for her to eat prepared dinners all the time.
They walked together again and this time, Nanako did allow her to walk her all the way to her school where he met a few of her friends briefly. And along the way to his own school, he found Yosuke had crashed his bike again.
Naruto helped him once more, wondering if the boy was accident prone, or simply a bad rider.
"Hey, thanks for the help again today," Yosuke muttered, clearly embarrassed. "Say, did you hear the news yesterday? About the announcer lady they found hanging? That can't have been an accident, right? I mean, who would do something like that?"
"No idea," Naruto was of a similar mindset. "Whoever it is, hopefully they're caught soon."
"Yeah," Yosuke agreed. He gasped hearing the bell ring. "Oh no, we're going to be late! Wanna ride? My bike's a little squeaky but it works."
Naruto wasn't entirely confident in his ability to get them there in one piece but neither did he feel like dealing with King Maron's griping should they be late. In the end, he took Yosuke up on his offer and rode on the spokes behind him, awkwardly holding onto his shoulders as they rode to school.
Thankfully Yosuke didn't crash and though they were late, King Moron was even later then they were and his attitude didn't show any improvement from the previous day. When lunch rolled around, Naruto was approached by Yosuke.
"Forgot to ask this morning but how're you getting used to things around here?" He asked.
"It's honestly not all that bad," Naruto admitted.
It certainly helped that there were more than a few cute girls in his class.
"Intersting," Yosuke hummed before shrugging. "But I guess I got pretty used to it myself. I mean, there's plenty to like; the countryside, the fresh air, the local delicacies. It's steak, just so you know, but like that's anything special. I mean, what place doesn't have a good steak spot?"
Naruto shrugged his shoulders in agreement.
"Say, since you helped me out these past two days, why don't I treat you to some steak, I know just the place," Yosuke offered.
"Sure, sounds like fun," Naruto agreed.
Ryutaro was supposed to pick up Nanako for a doctors appointment that day, so he wouldn't be walking her home. It also wouldn't hurt to make new friends.
"Alright! Us city slickers need to stick together!" Yosuke cheered.
Before he could ask him to clarify, Chie approached. "What about my compensation for breaking Trail of the Dragon?" She asked with arms crossed.
"Why do you always seem to come around when food's involved," Yosuke muttered.
"What do you think, Yukiko-chan, wanna tag along with us?" Chie asked.
"Man, it looks like she's invited herself," Yosuke sighed.
"No thanks," Yukiko denied. "I don't want to gain any weight. And besides, I have to help at the inn today."
Naruto didn't think she needed to worry about her weight but didn't want to come off as a creep by voicing as much.
"So Yukiko-chan's already training to take over the family business," Yosuke commented but Yukiko didn't acknowledge his comment as she rushed out of the room.
Something was bothering her, Naruto realized. "Is she okay? Yukiko-san seems a little stressed."
"She's fine," Chie dismissed. "We better get going too, I'm starving!"
"Wait, do I really have to treat two people?" Yosuke whined.
"I can cover my own food," Naruto suggested.
"No," Yosuke sighed again. "I already said I'd buy. Let's go."
They allowed Yosuke to lead while Naruto and Chie spoke, which again was more of a one sided conversation as she eagerly discussed all of the karate movies she'd watched. Evidently she was self instructed but proudly boasted how she'd beat up bullies more than once.
Naruto eagerly listened to the cute girl. He couldn't quite place what he liked about her, but if he had to guess, she almost reminded him of Sakura. Though he wouldn't get his hopes up with Chie. He would only be in Inaba for a year, after all, and getting into a relationship would be ill advised.
It had nothing at all to do with the fact he had no luck with girls. Nothing at all.
Chie was so animated in their conversation that she failed to notice where Yosuke had led them until he told them to take their seats while he ordered. She looked around before taking her seat with a huff.
"What's wrong?" Naruto asked.
"Yosuke sucks, that's what," Chie muttered but did not elaborate.
"Alright," Naruto thought Chie really was like Sakura, and he was Yosuke in that uncomfortable scenario.
"This is the place you were talking about?" Chie griped upon Yosuke's return. "There's no grilled steak here!"
"Yeah well, this is what happens when you hop on the freeloader train," Yosuke said as he set down a tray with three drinks and a large order of fries presumably for them to share. "This is all I can afford."
"Yeah right, this is all an excuse to bring us to your place," Chie accused as she snatched her drink and began to sip angrily, which looked cute in Naruto's opinion.
"What? No it's not!" Yosuke looked at him, seemingly for support before coming to his own realization. "Oh that's right, you don't know. You see, about six months ago this location opened and my dad was assigned to manage it."
"That's what you meant by fellow exchange student," Naruto concluded. "Where'ed you move here from?"
"Kyoto," Yosuke said. "You?"
"Tokyo," Naruto said.
They exchanged stories about their city's and all they missed the most about them. After a while, Chie seemed to grow annoyed at her exclusion from their conversation and voiced it.
"Alright enough already!" She interrupted Yoske's rant about the lack of adventurous girls in the countryside. "I get it, you guys are sick of us country bumpkins!"
"I wouldn't say that," Naruto denied. "Yeah, there's a lot I miss, but it's mainly my friends. There's actually a lot I like about the country. Mainly I'm happy that I met my uncle and cousin."
"Oh, you mean Nanako-chan, she was so cute!" Chie gushed. "But who's your uncle?"
"His name's Dojima Ryutaro. He's a detective here," Naruto said.
"Then he knows what happened, you know, about the hanging woman?" Yosuke asked conspiratorially.
"I'm sure he does and I already asked, but he didn't seem too keen on talking about it. And it's not like I can just pressure him to talk, I've only known him for like, three days," Naruto said as he took a sip of his drink.
"Fair point," Yosuke said in passing. His attention was on a girl at another table. "It's Saki-sempai."
"Who's that, your girlfriend?" Naruto wiggled his eyebrows at his now blushing classmate.
"He wishes," Chie snorted.
"I'll be right back," Yosuke didn't seem to hear her insult.
"He's so daft," Chie sighed before turning her mischievous grin in his direction. "So what about you huh, gotta a girlfriend back home?"
Naruto almost choked on fry he was eating and began to blush. "Ah, well you see, it's complicated but there's this one girl who I really like and we're just taking things slow, ya'know, just to see how things go."
"So that's a no?" Chie concluded with a grin.
"Uh, yeah, no," Naruto admitted bashfully.
Chie beamed for some reason.
He noticed the girl and Yosuke were making their way over to them.
"You're the new transfer student, yeah?" Saki asked.
"That's me, Namikaze Naruto," Naruto introduced himself.
"It's nice to meet you too," There was something odd about her smile. "It must be nice to have someone else from the big city to talk to. I don't see Hana-chan hanging out with the other guys much."
Yosuke became embarrassed. "T-That's not true!"
"He doesn't have many friends, you see, so please take care of Hana-chan," Saki said with a smile.
Behind her Yosuke was red-faced. Naruto couldn't quite tell if she was being genuine or trying to embarrass him.
"Hana-chan's a good guy but he can get nosy, so sometimes you got to tell him right to his face when he starts to annoy you," Saki continued, her words getting harsher.
"I think Yosukes' pretty cool," Naruto said, sending his downtrodden classmate a reassuring smile.
After all, guys who got cruelly rejected had to stick together.
Yosuke joined in with her laughing and just like her laugh, his sounded forced. "Come on senpai, you don't have to worry about me."
"Well, my breaks over," Saki ignored Yosuke. "I'll see you all around."
Yosuke called after her but she ignored him again as she trudged away. He sat back down with a painful smile. "That Saki-senpai calls me nosy but she has a brother and she treats me just like him," he finished with a sigh.
"Ah, so you want her to treat you differently than a brother?" Chie chimed in mischievously.
"It's not like that," Yosuke sighed again but the blush on his face gave him away.
"Oh really?" Chie continued to smirk. "Well I know just the thing to cheer up a lovesick heart. Listen up, Naruto, this goes for you too."
"Eh, why me?"
Chie only wiggled her eyebrows at him. "You ever heard of the midnight channel?"
Both boys shook their head.
"Well they say that on a rainy night, at midnight, if you stare into the tv when it's off you'll see someone appear! They say it's supposed to be your soulmate," Chie said conspiratorially.
Yosuke and Naruto shared a look.
"That's it!" Yosuke shook his head. "And here I thought you were actually going to say something useful."
"What, you're saying you don't believe me?" Chie asked with crossed arms.
"Of course not," Yosuke stated firmly.
Chie looked to Naruto next.
"It's a little out there," Naruto admitted after a long pause.
"No imagination!" Chie huffed. "The both of you. You know what, it's gonna rain tonight. Why don't we all try it out?"
"Wait, you're saying you haven't even tried it out yourself? Man, I can't remember the last time I heard something this stupid," Yosuke said.
Chie looked furious.
"Look, it won't hurt to try," Naruto quickly intervened before another fight could erupt between the two. "I mean what if it's true? Stranger things have happened."
"Stranger than your soulmate appearing on tv at midnight, on a rainy night?" Yosuke's words were heavy with sarcasm. "Like what?"
"I don't have an example off the top of my head but it's an expression, a'know?" Naruto said.
"See, at least someone's opened minded," Chie added.
"Anyways," Yosuke dismissed her. "Naruto, you doing anything this weekend?"
They fell into the general conversation, with both Chie and Yosuke taking turns asking him about his life in Tokyo. In turn, Naruto got to learn more about his classmates and felt glad he'd taken Yosuke up on his offer. He enjoyed spending time with his cousin but it was nice to have friends his age.
After parting ways Naruto arrived home to find Nanako alone, watching television.
"Welcome home!" Nanako greeted him with a restrained smile.
"Where's your old man?" Naruto asked as he set his things down.
"My dad's not that old!" Nanako pouted.
Naruto chuckled as he took a seat across from her. "I'm sorry Nanako-chan, but it's an expression. It's another way to say your dad," he explained.
"Oh," Nanako sighed. "He got called to work but he said he'd be home in time for dinner but he wasn't and neither were you."
There was a slight tremble to her voice.
"I'm sorry, Nanako-chan, but I didn't know your father wouldn't be here. I was spending time with some friends from school," Naruto said. He was suddenly feeling guilty at having left his cousin alone.
"You mean those two pretty girls from the day before?" Nanako asked.
"One of them," Naruto said following a nervous chuckle.
Nanako smiled at him. "I'm glad you're making friends! If you want to spend time with them after school, I can walk home by myself."
To Naruto, that didn't seem right. "Well I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you tagged along some times," he said.
"R-Really?" Nanako asked hopefully.
"Yep! Yosuke wanted to hang out this weekend but maybe we can go to Junes again sometime soon with Chie-chan," Naruto offered.
"Yay!" Nanako looked happy again.
Ryutaro stumbled in a few moments later, looking absolutely worn out. He allowed himself to fall onto the futon with a heavy sigh and half lidded eyes.
"Long day?" Naruto asked.
"Yep," Ryutaro agreed tiredly.
"You're late," Nanako accused.
"I know, I'm sorry," Ryutaro looked defeated. "Can you please turn on the news for me?"
Nanako did so with a huff.
The news broadcasted an update to the case revolving around the female reporter found dead. The update involved an interview with a girl who's voice and face were blurred, but they didn't do a very good job because Naruto instantly recognized her to be Saki.
Throughout the broadcast, Ryutaro would chip in with tired but snide comments about the case details. Naruto listened intently while Nanako seemed to be growing bored until they cut to commercials, once again showing the Junes commercial.
As always, Nanako sang along. "Maybe we can all go to Junes together?" She said, only to find her father had fallen asleep.
Nanako looked saddened again.
"We can go together real soon," Naruto tried to cheer her up but it didn't seem to fully work this time.
"Okay," Nanako said following another sigh.
Naruto excused himself when it became apparent Nanako wasn't in the mood to talk with him. In fact she didn't even respond to him when he wished her a good night. Upstairs he laid in bed but decided to stay up, listening as the rain pattered against the window, waiting for midnight to arrive.
Once it did Naruto found himself before a black screen, his own reflection barely visible in the little light bled in from the street. As he did so, two thoughts crossed his mind. The first and most immediate was questioning exactly what he was doing in front of his television at midnight, and the second; who was he expecting to see?
If anyone were to appear, would it be a girl with pink hair and cute forehead, or one with brown hair and a mischievous smile? Naruto shook his head with a short chuckle and wondered what he was thinking. He barely knew her and yet, there he was at midnight, staring into a darkened screen, waiting for anything to happen.
When it became apparent nothing was going to happen, Naruto turned away in order to go to bed. He felt a sharp sensation of panic set in abruptly before he even realized the television had turned itself on, displaying nothing but static.
Naruto grasped at his head when he experienced a sudden and sharp pain in his head.
"I am though…though art I…though art the one who opens the door…"
The pain and confusion persisted even after the voice subsided until there was a flash from outside, and all was dark. Naruto stared at the once more darkened television, questioning whether or not that really happened, or if he was just tired. But he knew the answer to that.
What he didn't know was what had just happened or why. Had what Chie said said been true? If so he didn't see his soulmate, or anything really. Rather he heard the voice of a man, his words making little sense to him.
Naruto took a cautious step in the direction of the television, suddenly feeling an urge to touch it. When he finally did, he was rather shocked to find the screen rippled at his touch.
He yanked his hand back in wonder and again began to question his own mental faculties. There was, however, no questioning what he was seeing. So against his better judgment, Naruto pressed his hand against the television and pushed forward.
It felt as though he was sticking his hand through ice cold water without actually feeling wet. He felt the chills course through his body, making him feel even further on edge, almost as if he was in danger.
Naruto heard a growl before being pulled against the television. Something cold and clammy was pulling at his hand and Naruto had to use all of his strength to keep himself from being pulled into the television. Just as he felt his footing begin to step, he heaved a final time, sending him crashing against the table, smacking his head hard.
"Oh shit, that hurt," Naruto groaned as he held the back of his head, feeling a knot already forming.
He heard small footsteps rushing up the stairs. "N-Naruto, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," Naruto called back. "Just uh, accidentally kicked the table," he called back.
"Oh, okay," Nanako sounded relieved. "Well…goodnight."
"Goodnight, Nanako-chan," Naruto said but his thoughts were already on exactly what had just happened.
When he looked at the television again, the feeling of dread was gone. Despite his better judgment once more, he touched it and felt the cold hard glass he should have the first time.
Thoroughly confused and suddenly exhausted, Naruto laid in bed, determined to question Chie the next day. The mysterious voice's words echoed in his mind one more time as he fell asleep.
I'll try to update as often as possible but i'm busy with work most days so we'll see.
Until next time!